A depressed exit environment for VC has continued to frustrate LPs, as the 8.1% distribution yield over the past 12 months continues the trend of historically below-average VC distributions. Only following the great financial crisis and the dot-com bust were VC distributions so measly. In the drought of capital being returned, LPs have been reluctant to commit to new VC funds and end up overallocated to the strategy.

PE has been a bright spot, climbing out of its recent lows to a 23.8% distribution yield on beginning NAV over the past year. This has not cleared out the backlog of holdings, however, as 35% of PE NAV is in assets held for seven or more years, up from 27% in 2021.

 

IRRs remain subdued versus the long term for most strategies—though these include both realized and unrealized results. With more assets remaining unrealized for longer, the returns have more reliance on NAV estimations rather than crystallized profits.

Real assets were the stand-out performer over the past year, with its one-year result of 9.6% outperforming its 10-year horizon IRR of 7.7%. Every other strategy posted a one-year result that was less attractive than its long-run performance.

For more data on fund performance as well as a spotlight on whether private markets are worth it in a total portfolio context, please reference the latest Global Fund Performance Report.

VC funding for biopharma continued its extended downturn in Q3, capturing just 5.6% of total venture dollars deployed, compared to a five-year quarterly average of 8.2%.

Early-stage startups have been hit hardest, with seed rounds falling to a record-low 14% of total biopharma deals YTD. This trend reflects the muted exit environment that has characterized the sector over the last two years.

With just 26 public listings in 2025, the year is on pace to fall well below the annual average of 84 since 2020. Limited exit liquidity has fueled a risk-off sentiment, with investors prioritizing de-risked, clinical-stage assets or moving away from the sector altogether to pursue faster growth opportunities in other tech verticals.

Despite the weak quarter, signs of a recovery are emerging. After several consecutive quarters of decline, deal counts have begun to stabilize, up 3.2% on a TTM basis and now on pace to surpass 2024's multi-year low of 1,080.